In the near decade since Martin McDonagh redefined Irish cinema by relocating it to Belgium with his feature debut In Bruges, the Irish-British playwright has been fairly quiet.

With the exception of Seven Psychopaths, McDonagh has bided his time, but now is set to return in a very big way later this year thanks to Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. And as the first trailer for the film shows, the writer’s fluency with the finesse of foul language has never been sharper.

The project was first mentioned by McDonagh in 2010, when he told a Guardian journalist that the film told the story of a 50-year-old woman whose daughter is murdered. Showing incredible foresight for the Black Lives Matter movement, seven years ago McDonagh was already crafting a script about a woman who takes on the local police because “she thinks they are more interested in torturing black people than getting justice.”

Billboards stars Frances McDormand as Mildred Hayes, the vengeful mother of the slain girl, with Woody Harrelson and Sam Rockwell on board as the local sheriffs who run afoul of her. Take a look at the trailer below – though headphones are advised...